Quivering Corruption (DM Lerus)

Zern hit dice: 12

"Indulge my curiosity for a moment, King Witchthorn. We are aware that the Zartuss Hobgoblins had sent some of their number to your court to petition you before we had arrived. We have seen one of their fallen and there were signs of at least one other along our way. Do you know how many others there were and what has become of them?"

(Edit: Let's add one more: 9)

Seranolla approaches Lady Ishaldra, bowing her head in deference.

"My lady, I wonder if you might share with us the circumstances that led to your predicament earlier? I would like to learn more about the corruption affecting the forest, my hope would be to devise a way to counter it in future and cleanse its taint."

Seranolla's hit die: 3xd8= 11

Senitir perks up at Zern's line of questioning, and would look on in interest to the king. But with the question (or not), the Owl aarakocra stayed quiet, initially uncertain of what to question, or more accurately, what to bother with before they push their hospility a step too far. But then...

"Phere was also a stone archway we discovered in phe middle of hhe forest. One associated wiph teleportation as I understood, but very old and inactive. Out of curiosity... no, if perhaps as a means to further our cause perhaps, do you know if it can be repaired, or what it was for, your Kingship?" He asked of the King Witchthorn, unable to contain scholarly curiosity, if only for a moment.

--> SR: No healing, but using Arcane Recovery to get back the 2 second level spell slots spent)

The Fey Lord responds to Zern's question: "No hobgoblin has arrived in my court recently. Did you not say you encountered some corrupted satyrs on your way here who put an end to some hobgoblins. I gather those were the emissaries, judging by your own tale. You should have asked them, before killing the satyrs yourselves."

Princess Ishaldra has a side conversation with Seranolla: "What I know is little, but the dragon's presence began to corrupt our forest. Thickets form labyrinthine passages, fog patches sprout and linger, vines and bushes become thorny and poisonous, small critters are turned into dragon informants, and the dragon's own presence interacts in a strange way with us fey, as you have seen earlier. It almost felt as if I was charmed by the dragon's poisonous presence. Perhaps I was not strong of mind enough, but those satyrs you mentioned are proof I was not the only one." 

Lord Whichthorn turns to face Senitir: "I know of the archway you speak. There are remains of a few of them around these parts. They are not my court's creation. Elves from long ago built them. I gathered they used them to teleport between areas in their own kingdom, not too differently from the portal I have offered to open for you. Their magic is long expired by now, I'm afraid."

Short rest so far:

• Zern: heals for 11 HP.
• Seranolla: heals for 10 HP.
• Senetir: recovers two 2nd level spell slots with Arcane Recovery.
• Caah: no hit dice, but she makes sure to collect her javelins.

(OOC: We still need to hear from @Grx regarding Dornal's short rest. In the meantime, feel free to interact with the fey a bit longer.)

"I wouldn't chastise yourself too harshly my lady. Our brother Oak succumbed too, as did the forest's critters and it's free things I've seen will keep a squirrel from a meal."

Going on what she has learned of the corruption, Seranolla wracks her knowledge to see if she can't get a better handle on things.

Nature 25

Deciding it best to ponder matters with Senetir given his magical knowledge, the gnome decides it best to pick up the conversation on their return from the fey lands.

OOC:  So sorry for delay!

Dornal Hit Dice 3xD12:  23

Before settling in for some rest, Seranolla spends some time putting all the information she learned so far together. She is sure that simply splashing clean water around the entire forest is not feasible, and even cleansing magic only worked in localized patches. Even if these options were viable, the dragon's presence in itself would surely renew the corruption given enough time. Try as she might, she only sees two paths forward. To cleanse the forest permanently, they either have to drive the dragon away or kill it outright. The former only pushes the problem onto another forest somewhere in Faerûn, the latter might be more achievable in a second expedition once the current one destroys the dragon's allies. That said, with so many allies in tow, including the vast retinues of not one but two powerful noble houses, this current expedition might be their best chance after all. Tough decisions will have to be made.

Completing short rest:

• Dornal: heals for 23 + 12 = 35 HP.

(OOC: With that, we'll jump back to CRAP's rest. As mentioned in our OOC chat, you may assume that any and all details you played through while controlling these NPCs was passed along to CRAP through messages in a similar fashion to the message interlude we had earlier.)

CRAP'S CAMP

Back at camp, CRAP and others still rest:

• Utar and Rhonda have just now finished burying the dead.
• Taters and Doozey have kept a close eye on Rhonda all along. There is nothing to report.
• Neya, Graxx, and Villonah continues to add a bit of detail to their plans.
• Yalek has shared a bit more info too, but it is all repeated knowledge to CRAP now.
• The group has continued to receive messages from the FEY LORD team (as explained in my previous post.)

(OOC: Would you like to digest/discuss the new info as your main characters for a bit or should we go ahead and initiate the message interlude for the NECROMANCER team?)

MESSAGE INTERLUDE - NECROMANCER TEAM 

Please pick one of the rolls below for you to roll on behalf of your NPC character. Whichever roll is left over will be given to Chaab, the character that I am in charge of in this team. 

• Plot roll d12
• Perception check {DC 10} 
• Investigation check {DC 15} 
• Nature check {DC 15} 
• Survival check {DC 15} 

Links to your second set of NPC characters can be found in the Campaign page. Feel free to name/use spells or character features that you think would be useful for these rolls.

Plot roll: 1

Brother Keefe Perception Roll DC 10:  16

Harper Agent Investigations!(DC 15): 24.

Is Olisara feeling naturey?: 21

(OOC: Pretty good start...)

Chaab's survival check {DC 15}: 23

(OOC: All successes!) 

MESSAGE INTERLUDE - NECROMANCER TEAM 

Utar receives the following message from Captain Aleyd Burral: "While we were following a path into the woods, the Zhentarim Chaab revealed that he had better information regarding the meeting place of these mysterious wizards and the representatives of the New Cult faction than between the meeting between them and the Old Cult faction. It seems the wizards were making sure they met with each faction separately. We decided to place our bets on the side for which we had more info, and rushed to the meeting place. We made our way up a hill where the bushes grew thicker and the trees closer. It was very foggy and smelly."

Graxx receives the following message from Brother Keefe: "Near the top of the hill where we were supposed to intercept a meeting between these robed wizards and the New Cult, I thought I recognized the disgusting smell coming from our right. It was undoubtedly the smell of rotting meat. I thought that the smell was best left undisturbed, but others in the group insisted on checking its source. We took a detour in order to investigate it."

Doozey receives the following message from Harper: "I spotted the source of the foul smell before any of my temporary companions. It was a dead deer, but the kill was clean. In fact, there was no body, just scattered remains. Nothing more than cracked bones and some pieces of hide."

Neya receives the following message from Olisara Lightsong: "I noticed some greenish patches on the pieces of deer hide we found. I was able to identify it as some sort of green moss. What's more, it was not only attached to the hide but it was also growing on it... living off it. In other words, it was present while the deer was alive like some sort of parasite or corruption."

Villonah receives the following message from Chaab: "I saw tracks left about the deer remains. They had been left behind by some sort of four-legged animal, and there were certainly more than one. The smaller tracks belonged to regular wolves, but one set had come from a larger creature. It was dire wolf, or perhaps a worg. We were very likely standing in their hunting grounds."

Utar receives a second message from Captain Aleyd Burral: "We advanced toward the top of the hill with caution, well aware we were being followed by wolves at this point. We were ready for their ambush but the they were more familiar with the overgrown and shadowy terrain. It was a fiercer battle than it should have been but the wolves eventually fell to our blades. The most unnerving part is that their fur was mangy, they had green moss growing out of their skin, and their drool was a dark green."

ENCOUNTER INTERLUDE: CRASHING THE PARTY - NECROMANCER TEAM 

(OOC: You'll now take over the Necromancer Team for their next encounter, as you did with the Fey Lord Team.) 

You have reached a landing on the side of a large hill. The final portion of the climb rises up ahead and should lead you to the meeting site. One side of the hill has exposed rock and would require a climb. The rest of the hill is a gentle slope, easy to navigate. From your current position you can discern a clearing at the top of the hill. Several humanoids are gathered near a black tent. 

In order to reach the meeting place, you'll need to approach the last part of the hill (a 20-foot-tall climb) and decide whether to climb the steeper side or take the gentler slope. You are also welcome to find your own solution, of course. The steeper climb requires an athletics check to advance successfully and a stealth check to do so without being noticed. The gentler slope requires no check to advance and provides some rocks and trees that could be used for stealth. However, this gentler slope is being closely guarded by both meeting parties. 

Normal illumination is present due to the clearing. There is no fog atop the hill. Tall trees provide good spots for hiding, but would likely need to be climbed first. There are also some mounts grazing beyond the black tent set up in the clearing. They are bulkier than horses and have wings, though they seem affected by some sort of sickness. Any more information than that would require a closer look.

(OOC: How shall Brother Keefe, Chaab, Aleyd, Harper, and Olisara proceed?)

With the parameters of the mission in mind, Harper quiet gets at least Olisara's attention, signaling his intent to for the steeper climb. Though both could see it would be a tough climb, any brief look of concern is met by a wink meant to assauge it, before his body unravels into wisps of fast fading mist. Re-materalizing behind a tree up at the top of the hill, Harper spends a moment making sure to still the heart, breath stayed even, and not so much as even a stray foot tip could be seen from beyond his new position.

If not caught, then only once satisfied in having secured his position did he focus upon the reconnaissance half of the mission; plotting out other potential areas to reposition to as necessary for the endeavor, as well as keeping an ear out on meeting. Such was the plan, but just before then, Harper intended to keep an eye on the approach, a illusion at the ready to create a small noise of brush being disturbed elsewhere, chicken clucking, or really anything to grab just enough attention in the heat of the moment without drawing too much of it or being out of place.

-->Bonus Action to Cast (2nd level)Misty Step into new position, augmented by 'Subtle' Metamagic' to remove vocal components.
-->Stealth Attempt: 22.

Watching Harper silently ascend the rock face, Captain Aleyd Burral feels a tinge of jealousy. He would get to overhear and observe the meeting and who knew how much of the previous intel he gathered would be shared. Moneus would never have held anything back, not back when she knew him, she wasn't so sure about the tiefling's loyalties now, but at least the two members of her old unit who remained in Phlan were watching over reach other.

Glancing down at the resplendent black armour she wrote, she cursed internally. The noise generated by the rubbing, clanking and clashing of her plates of armour were never going to let her reach the top unnoticed and she would have to rely on whatever the Harper's decided to share with her on their return. This was a recon mission after all.

On the other hand, she reasoned it was best each member of the group play to their strengths to better serve the whole party, and feeling confident in her own martial strengths, she thought it best to spend a few moments in silent prayer before she was called to act. Throughout, her sword hand never left the pommel of her blade.

(OOC Aleyd is going to position herself such that she could, if needed, sprint the distance up the gentle slope to the meeting. She'll also in her silent prayer, keep an ear out for anything she can hear from the meeting place.)

Perception listening - 16

Brother Keefe knowing he's going to make noise as well stays stead next to Captain Aleyd ready to move to action if needed.

Brother Keefe will activate "Eyes of the Grave".

 Brother Keefe will look toward the sickly mounts.

Perception:  22

Olisara, thinking that her spells' requirements are not well-suited for clandestine work, decides that she figures preparing a contingency might be a better idea.

Should they be in danger of being discovered during the meeting, using her flute in an emulation of wind whistling through the trees, she would create a illusion of a rabbit with the same kind of mossy substance on it running across the hill.

She then presses herself against the rocks of the steep part of the hill and attempts to extend her hearing to listen in on the meeting.

Perception: 21